One shot to victory
Patrick Kim, senior, placed first at the Junior Olympics Archery State.
With a firm grip on the black, sleek bow and with a hawk-eyed gaze, Patrick Kim, senior, shifts himself into the correct form. Bringing the bow up steadily to eye level, he pulls back the string until it is taut. He breathes in, deeply, then exhales. He lets go and the arrow swiftly flies towards the center of the target.
Seemingly “born for archery,” Kim is one of the top archers in the country, according to Kisik Lee, head coach of both the U.S. Olympic Archery Team and Joy Lee Archery Academy. Last season, Kim acquired a 20th overall Junior United States Archery Team (USAT) National Rank. This year, he won fourth place at the 2015 State Indoor Competition, third place at the Cotton Boll, and earned a 21st USAT National Rank for 2016.
However, unlike many of his competitors, Kim didn’t begin archery at a young age.Instead, he dabbled in different sports such as tennis, swimming, and soccer. It wasn’t until the beginning of sophomore year that Kim tried his hand at archery.
What started as recreational shooting at Hi-Tech Archery, a local shooting range in Fullerton, Calif., developed into a full-scale passion after meeting his now close friend and fellow athlete, Valencia HS student, Kevin Kim. After watching a club practice of Kim’s, Patrick was introduced to Lee and Joy Lee Archery Academy. From there, Patrick joined the club team under Lee’s encouragement. Kim recalls that this was the moment when archery became “the most important part of [his] life.”
From the very start of his club stint, Kim was exposed to Joy Lee’s distinct training style, the National Training System (NTS). NTS is an official USA archery method created by Lee that coaches are required to learn in order to be certified. In the system, the archer is required to have basic knowledge of biomechanics as well as immense mental concentration to execute a good shot. Although in unfamiliar territory, Kim found himself adjusting quickly to the new training form, simply because of his pure enjoyment of archery.
“When I first started archery, it was not that difficult because I was having so much fun. But as I learned more, it became harder because learning to be consistent is the most difficult [part about the sport] since archery requires focus, concentration, consistency, and a lot of self-refinement,” Kim said.
A couple of months into his club experience, Kim decided he was ready to compete in his first competition, the 2014 State Indoor Archery Competition, held every January in Tulare, Calif. Despite not placing in the top 10, he took his loss as a “learning experience” and challenged himself to improve.
Kim refined his training style so that he shot around 200 arrows a day at practice — 20 short distance shots at 30 meters away and more than 150 long distance shots at 70 meters away for about two hours. During practice, Kim also coached himself on each individual shot, working out the biomechanics of his shot in true NTS fashion. Kim trained every day, except for the days where he worked with his coach.
“I don’t often see a person like him who has such a high level of dedication and love for archery. He is more passionate than any other person I’ve ever seen. I feel like he was born for archery,” Lee said.
Through repetition and “practice, practice, and practice,” Kim honed his skills, especially his consistency. Most importantly, Kim strengthened his bow arm control and learned to better analyze his own shot.
As a result, Kim went on to win third place in the 2014 State Outdoor Competition and placed second in the California Duel in the Desert to secure a 20th overall Junior USAT National Rank in 2014.
Although Kim has won a plethora of awards since his archery debut, the highlight of his rising career is “undoubtedly” winning first place in the Junior Olympic Archery Development for State Indoor this year. Kim describes his first place victory as “the best feeling ever.”
As for the future, Kim is working hard to be a Resident Athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.
“After Patrick started archery, he became more focused with his goal and I am proud to watch him work so hard. Even though he competes solo, we are a team working together and I [will] always support him [so that he can] reach his dream,” Jennifer Kim, Kim’s mother, said.
